The Sophia Way, in partnership with Catholic Community Services, has opened its second women’s emergency winter shelter on the Eastside.

The second, new, shelter is located at Fenwick Hall, Bellevue First Congregational Church in Downtown Bellevue. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. until the end February.

The shelter closes each morning at 7 a.m., at which time women will have access to vital services at the Day Center, located nearly two miles north in the basement of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church at 3032 Bellevue Way NE.

The Day Center opens at 8 a.m. Monday through Friday and now has extended winter hours until 3 p.m. to better serve and help community women and families experiencing homelessness.

The first operational emergency winter shelter is located at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Bellevue. This shelter supports women and families, including families with fathers and single fathers with children. On any given night, there are up to 50 mats available for people to walk in, receive a hot meal and spend the night.

Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and people can take shelter until 7 a.m. the next morning. Since late November, when the shelter was located at Redmond United Methodist, it had been frequently reaching its maximum occupancy capacity in terms of the number of women and families it was allowed to accept.

“With the weather getting colder, we do not want women and families to be turned away,” said Angela Murray, executive director at The Sophia Way.

Thanks to additional emergency funding from the cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond and Kirkland, the second shelter provides a safe, warm place for single adult women to receive a meal and a place to sleep during the coldest months of the year.

St. Peter’s United Methodist will continue to serve the families. There is also a men’s overnight emergency shelter operated by Congregations for the Homeless. All emergency winter shelters are open seven days a week.

For more information, email info@sophiaway.org.